Unlike the other products in this roundup, AOL Parental Controls is server-based, with nothing to install beyond AOL itself. This is handy, since many third-party products can't filter content accessed with AOL's browser.

Parents can customize filtering by screen name, choosing from four age-rated categories. They can tune settings as well. For example, the Teen setting allows newsgroups but blocks adult content; disallowing newsgroup content related to, say, viruses is also a simple matter.

AOL's filtering, which relies on a URL list, got a shot in the arm in May 2001 with the addition of RuleSpace's Contexion Services neural network technology. Contexion analyzes the context in which words are used and recognizes patterns. In testing, it passed the front page of a particular porn site; the next page, however, was blocked. On subsequent tries, the front page was also blocked. When we started testing, during the transition to Contexion, about eight out of ten offensive sites were intercepted. A few weeks later, the average was nine out of ten.

Unlike Cybersitter, which filters Instant Messenger, AOL allows either full access to IMs or none at all. While chatting under the Mature Teen setting, we received (via AIM) an invitation to a porn site! Luckily, AOL blocked the URL.

AOL Parental Controls has one key weakness. With dial-up accounts, kids are protected with any browser. But with cable or (non-AOL) DSL modems, AOL allows a TCP/IP connection, as well as the ISP's standard connection. If you access AOL via another ISP, Parental Controls won't filter content outside the AOL client. If, for example, you launch Internet Explorer, you'll reach unfiltered content. Parents not dialing into AOL should consider another product.

At Home: AOL Parental Controls

At Home: AOL Parental Controls

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